Biodiversity Targets Lagging: Nations Seek $200 Billion Nature Deal at COP16

Rome COP16 Summit Goes on with Focus on $200 Billion Nature Finance Agreement Following Biodiversity Crisis

The 16th UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16) that started in October 2024 in Cali, Colombia, will continue on February 25, 2025, in Rome, Italy. Diplomats representing close to 150 countries have gathered to pursue solutions towards a world biodiversity mission and halting the fast decimation of nature. One of the summit's primary goals includes the establishment of a $200 billion yearly fund specifically aimed at preserving global biodiversity.

The coincidence of the timing of the conference is timely as countries are forced to take concrete action towards saving the environment. Biodiversity has lost substantial quantities over recent decades, populations of vertebrate wildlife having dropped by 73% since 1970, states the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Against this background, the need for strong action at COP16 has never been more pressing.

The summit will most probably concentrate on completing major aspects of the $200 billion nature finance pact, which will invest in activities that will forestall biodiversity loss. The funding machinery was first proposed at the landmark Kunming-Montanol Global Biodiversity Framework deal in October 2022. Nations agreed during the Cali, Colombia, meeting to create a fund that will get money from firms that are using genetic data in nature. This "Cali Fund" is at the center of the funding structure, to be used for the funding of the effort at preserving biodiversity in the world.

But it was challenging for the negotiators to come to an agreement on whose payments would finance the fund and manage the finances. The summit therefore lost time and failed to approve crucial elements of the agreement. As COP16 continues in Rome, optimism has grown that the negotiators will sign agreements and seal loopholes to start implementing the framework to end biodiversity loss by 2030.

The call for action is particularly urgent, with the majority of nations failing to achieve important biodiversity goals. According to a recent Carbon Brief analysis, 70 of the 137 nations (51%) that have put forward plans to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity have not pledged to protect 30% of their oceans and land by 2030. 10 nations have ambiguous commitments, and 61 nations have no plans. These findings have created skepticism about the ability of the international community to provide the high hopes placed on the next decade.

The failure to meet past biodiversity targets is another cause for concern. Governments have never met any of the UN's past biodiversity targets despite numerous attempts to do so. The decade-long record of failure has led many to worry that the international community is on the path to another decade of inaction, which is contrary to halting the loss of biodiversity and the impacts of climate change.

The aggressive 2030 targets, which are known as the "30 by 30" program, aim to protect 30% of the planet's lands and oceans by the end of the decade. The program is essential in preventing the degradation of ecosystems, preserving critical habitats, and enabling biodiversity to expand in spite of global warming, deforestation, and other environmental issues. But as the COP16 conference continues, it is clear that most nations are not anywhere near achieving this objective, which brings into question the effectiveness of global treaties.

Failure to progress towards conservation of biodiversity is also supported by increasing financial requirements required to handle the crisis. The target of $200 billion annually to be provided by COP16 constitutes part of a push to mobilize financing to bridge the gap for nature conservation activities worldwide. The money will support ecosystem protection, restoration of degraded ecosystems, and natural resource management for sustainable purposes.

The stumbling block is still raising necessary finances and fund disbursement, though. Whether to approach seeking which nations to request and how to manage funds remains to keep on hold progress in abeyance. And concerns about some governments' political willingness to provide necessary finances remain, particularly due to the other vying demands of other world crises, like the present climate crisis and economic insecurity.

Pressure on the negotiators is mounting to reach an agreement that will mobilize the financial resources necessary to protect biodiversity as the conference goes into extra time. While the creation of the Cali Fund is a significant step forward in closing the finance gap, there is more that needs to be accomplished to have the international community meet its 2030 targets. If it succeeds, the outcome of COP16 can bring in a new decade of international cooperation towards conservation of biodiversity. But if the governments do not act quickly, the world can look forward to another lost decade to protect the world's natural heritage.

Source: Bloomberg, The Guardian, World Wildlife Fund